"Whereas the tourist generally hurries back home at the end of a few weeks or months, the traveler, belonging no more to one place than the next, moves slowly, over periods of years from one part of the earth to another." -Paul Bowles

Friday, 10 November 2006

How being an expat changes you

Been reading this fantastic book of short stories/memoirs of expat experiences. A recurrent theme is how being an expat changes you in that your perception of your home country changes. You move to get away from it, then find yourself becoming defensive of it (moreso for Americans perhaps as no one likes us!), seeing movies you wouldn't step foot in the cinema for previously, and craving products you didn't necessarily have a huge taste for beforehand. I was so excited to see Grape Nuts in the nearby Tesco this past weekend that I bought a box. Upon pouring myself a bowl this morning and taking a big spoonful, I remebered two things: 1) Grape Nuts aren't actually all that tasty and 2) They take fucking forever to chew!

7 comments:

I totally feel ya on buying/craving things from the homeland you wouldn't necessary give a second glance to if you weren't expatting. I'm like that with television shows. We watch terrible shows like Hope and Faith and According to Jim because hey, it's on and it's American. When we were in Britain we would laugh at the prices for 'American' foods in places like House of Fraser or Selfridges. 6 pounds for a package of Oreos? 2 pounds for *one* can of rootbeer? Laughable!

yeah, I think this is probably true for anyone who has open discussions with people from other cultures and countries on a regular basis. it’s funny how defensive you can become of stuff you otherwise would criticize yourself. just the other day I found myself practically defending the u.s. for being ‘friends’ with a country whose law dictates that 4 men must be witness to a rape in order for someone to be prosecuted for it. * slaps forehead *

speaking of expats though… do you consider yourself an expat? is expat used as more of a generic term to describe someone who lives in a ‘foreign’ country for an extended period of time? I always think of it as having a little more meaning than that.

Follow up to boosie's question--an expatriate (or expat) actually comes from the Latin ex (out of) and patria (country), so is used to refer to someone out of their own country, whether temporarily or permanently, so yes, by definition, whether I consider myself to be or not, I AM an expat, and will be one yet again after my quick time in the States.

Australia

About Me

The adventures of an American expat living in Australia with her Aussie husband, looking for tips on yoga centres, people to swap recipes and gardening tips with, and to meet up with other childfree by choicers and/or expats to Adelaide.

Labels

"Life in a foreign country is a dance of submission and resistance. Self-knowledge comes in small repeated shocks as you find yourself giving in easily, with a struggle, or not at all." -Rhiannon Paine